Sunday, 30 December 2012

"To me Acapulco is the detoxicating cure for all the evils of the city: ambition, vanity, quest for success in money, the continous contagious presence of power-driven, obsessed individuals who want to become know, to be in the limelight, noticed, as if life among millions gave you a desperate illness, a need of rising above the crowd being noticed excisting individually, singled out from a mass of ants and sheep. It has something to do with the presence of millions of anonymous faces, anonymous people and the desperate ways of achieving distinction. Here, all this is nonsense.

You excist by your smile and your presence. You excist for your joys and relaxations. You exist in nature. You are part of the glittering sea, and part of luscious, well nourished plants. you are wedded to the sun, you are immersed in timelessness, only the present counts, and from the present you extract all the essences which can nourish the sences, and so the nerves are still, the mind is quiet, the nights are lullabies, the days are like gentle ovens in which infinetly wise sculptor's hands re-form the lost contours, the lost sensations of the body. The body comes to life. Quests, pursuits of concrete securities of one kind or another lose all their importance. As you swim, you are washed of all excrescences of so-called civilization, which includes the incapacity to be happy under any circumstances. "

Diary of Anais Nin Volume 5 - Fall 1951

I wasn't going to post again until the New Year but I felt compelled to do this post before 2013 is upon us.

The passage above sums up how I started to feel about City living, my heart has really always been in the country and Anais describes it perfectly .
After 7 years of living in our magical Capital I found that it started to loose it's sparkle.

So many of my dreams came true, I learnt many lessons and met some very special people (friends for life). Those experiences can never be taken away from me and I only have our beautiful City to thank for them.

My dreams can now only be achived by having some distance and by living more consciously. The picture above is taken 5 minutes from our new home, it makes me so happy.

London I love you and we are still not far, my visits will be frequent and like they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

24 comments:

I'm a city girl, through and through, I can't deny that, but that extract is beautiful and definitely gives me pause for thought. I can see that you are going to be very happy in your new home. I hope you have a lovely start to the New Year, and that 2013 is a wonderful one for you xx

With views like that no one could blame you for wanting to move out of the city. I can totally relate to how you felt Kelly-Marie, I've lived in Dublin city for four and a half years and I can't wait for the day that we can move out of the city and breathe. I was so lucky to grow up in a small fishing town in north county dublin and living by the coast is such a gift. It's only now that I can see how I took it for granted. I hope to move back there nearer to my family eventually. I am so glad you made the right decision for you (and Craig). I can see how your heart belongs in the country and I look forward to hearing about your life in your new home! I hope you have a very Happy New Year's Eve, maybe we'll get to meet each other in 2013!

Aww Emma, I knew you were a country girl at heart too, you can tell. I'm sure you guys will do it when the time is right. We nearly did it Two years ago but changed our minds at the last minute and i'm so glad we did! We both still had so much to do and achieve in the city. This time the timing was definitely right. 2013 is definitely the year we are going to meet! I am determined to come to Ireland so it will happen, and you know that you are always welcome if you want to visit The New Forest. Happy New Year and love to two of you. xx

You are meant to live in such dramatically beautiful surroundings, it suits you perfectly! I can imagine how hectic London life is, tis bad enough up here! Hope 2013 is a wonderful for you, you inspiring beaut xxx

Your sentiments are beautiful which also makes them true! Auden has also written about the (side)-effects of city life upon the aesthetics and to some extent Eliot has, primarily in The Waste Land.

Have you seen The Camomile Lawn? I watched it recently, it is an incredible dramatisation, I was surprised to recognise and confirm the character of Sophy is played by a very young Rebecca Hall. I hope you managed to catch Screen Goddesses and Hollywood's Lost Screen Goddess: Clara Bow (both on the beeb) amidst all the to-do of recent days. Astrologically, 2013 is meant to be about ascending femininity, harmony, peace and love. Wouldn't that be great? There is of course, her dark side but I've had enough of that in 2012 to last me a lifetime!

Hello Rehan, I'm so sorry it has taken me this long to reply to you! I havent seen The Camomile Lawn but everything you recommend to me is always spot on, so i'll definitely look it up. Especially if it has Rebecca Hall in it. I did indeed watch the Clara Bow one but sadly missed the other. The one on Clara was so lovely but very sad, what a traggic life. I really hope 2013 does mean all those things, I also really hope that your 2013 is turning out much better than the sounds of your 2012. I hope you are well and thanks again for your lovely and thoughtful comment.

I'm sure you're going to make an amazingly lovely life in the country! I know I haven't looked back since we moved out of the big city. Your soul is in the country where you belong. Have a very happy new year!

I can sooooo relate to this post,the first time i read it i felt very movedand had to take a few days before leaving a comment:)))love, love your picture, it reminds me of The French Lieutenant's Wife,a wonderful film, all the best to you

Lovely! Happy new year kitten! Here's to lots of productivity and success! I wish you all the bestest! So you have excess monies and time allowing you to take a trip up north for your picture taken by a wee plate photographer later on in the year hehehe! ;) Love Zoë =^..^= xxx